YOUTH VOICES for May 15

Western Middle School
Question: What can you do to improve your community?

Brook Koesterer, 6th grade
An average citizen of Jackson County throws away 60 pounds of plastic a year. The plastic contaminates have an affect on the water table because they seep through the soil and reach the water table. Every year, 38 billion water bottles are being transferred to Jackson County's landfill, which is equivalent to 1.5 million barrels of oil. When you recycle, you'll be transferring less trash to the landfills and then we can save one of earth's most natural resources, oil. As you know, plastic is made from oil. In Parma, where I live, there are no recycling bins. We, the citizens of Jackson County, should make a unified effort and recycle because it will make a difference. Let's go Jackson. Recycle that plastic!

Jeremy Jenski, 6th grade
I recently visited the Cascades Humane Society to choose a new family dog. The Humane Society's facility does great things for homeless, abused, and neglected animals. They provide medical care, food, and love to pets until they can receive a permanent home. These shelters need donations and volunteers to help them be more successful. I received a list of items that the shelter needs when I adopted my new puppy. Some of the items they need are bleach, brooms, dog collars, cat litter and laundry detergent. If you have some extra time and have a big heart, you could volunteer. They need people to do some things like walking dogs, cleaning cages, feeding animals, and office work. Volunteers must be at least 13 years old to help out at the shelter. This 9,000 square foot shelter was built in 2003 and is a safe environment for our homeless animals. Please support them in any way you can.

Carlie Morrow, 6th grade
Have you ever done something nice for someone else and felt awesome about doing it? Well, get ready to do something nice for the earth. It's called going green. Here's one way you can do your part. You can recycle. If you use reusable cloth bags, in two weeks, a family of six could save sixty plastic bags. Each time you don't recycle, you are throwing more pollution towards the ground, and what you know as home. So, think before you throw, and do what's right for the environment. It really yanks my heart out to see the landfills in Jackson and all of the pollution from people not recycling. Together, we can make a difference. The following stores sell reusable cloth bags: Meijer, Sam's, Target, Felpausch, Kroger, and Pollys.

Keanue Rutz, 6th grade
Let me tell you something. As a kid, I love to skateboard. I love the wind in my hair, board at my feet, and the thrill of doing tricks well beyond imagination. Some people say skateboarding is dangerous, but I see it differently. You can get hurt doing any sport, but if you love to do it, go for it! I think there should be more skate parks in Jackson. I think a great place to build one is the old Bel Air Drive-In. It's located at 2603 West Michigan Avenue. It has more than enough acres for a park. Nixon Park gets too many complaints about not being big enough and not having anything good to skate on. The demand for a new park is there. I surveyed 70 people around the school and 65 said we should have at least one more skate park. So how about it Jackson; care to build my desire?

Hannah Starr, 6th grade
Currently, legislatures are considering the thought of lowering the legal drinking age to eighteen. This could cause many problems. I hope those in power think long and hard before they make that decision. It is highly probable that an 18-year-old has some 16-year-old friends. If the drinking age gets lowered to 18, the 16-year-old friends could be given some of the intoxicants. Then would the drinking age be lowered to 16? Sixteen year olds have 14-year-old friends too! It also seems as if our government is caving in just because people are breaking the law anyway. Let's help our government see the danger in their proposal.

Carley Minix, 6th grade
We all know gas prices have been increasing, but unfortunately no one is doing anything about it! I've done some research, and gasoline is more expensive in Jackson than any of our neighboring cities. We are paying $3.54 a gallon. Ann Arbor pays $3.32 and Detroit only pays $3.22 a gallon. Why are we paying so much for fuel? Why can't Jackson do something about it? The prices are changing so fast that in the time it took me to write this, they changed three times.

Madaline Ganton. 6th grade
Our economy is hurting and everyone knows that. So why not try to make an effort to influence business owners to come here? We just need to give people better motivation and show them how Jackson could be a great opportunity to start a company. If we gave new businesses a tax cut, I believe we could lure others to come here. If that doesn't happen, and if we keep losing companies to Mexico, China and other states, Jackson's economy will keep diminishing. When I'm older, will I be able to have a job in Jackson or will I have to commute to Detroit for my job?

Kalyn Devine, 6th grade
I have been surfing the web and have found only one homeless shelter in Jackson. I have found five to six homeless shelters in Battle Creek and Ann Arbor, which disappoints me. So, take it from a kid that is a Boy Scout and helps in the homeless shelters to feed the homeless and give away warm blankets in the winter. Please consider building more homeless shelters for the homelessness in Jackson. The homeless will thank you for the food and shelter that you provide. We can be a great helping hand for the less fortunate in the neighborhood.

Katie Smith, 6th grade
What concerns me is how the U.S. wants to lower the drinking age to 18. The government made it 18 in the 1960s, but the rate for teen deaths went up. So six years later, it went back to 21. Sure, all the college people will agree to make it 18 because they want to drink legally. I did a survey of some of the people I know. Out of 115 people, 100 said they shouldn't change the drinking age. The government needs to learn from their first mistake.

Lynsi McCarrell, 6th grade
I think a good way people in my community could make Jackson a better place and clean up the environment would be to recycle their plastic water bottles. Most people just throw them in the trash or along the roadsides. Throwing them in the trash takes up more space in our county landfill. When I go to high school football and soccer games, what I see left behind in the bleachers and in the trash cans are empty water bottles. Maybe if the water bottles had a 10 cent return on them like pop bottles do, more of them would be returned for recycling.

Bailey Shepherd, 6th grade
I think that Jackson County would be a great place if there were more non-smoking restaurants. Remember coming home from dinner and smelling like smoke? It gets in your hair and coat and it's hard to get out. There are so many chemicals in cigarettes and it's horrible for your health. Some restaurants have non-smoking and smoking areas that are connected. They should have different rooms or a totally non-smoking restaurant. Their kitchens should be away from the smoking section. Who wants smoke in their food? I recommend these restaurants: Night Lights, Culvers, Cici's Pizza, Fazoli's and The Parlour. They're all non-smoking and I think you'll enjoy their smoke-free environment.

Alexis Martin, 6th grade
Jackson is the eighth most polluted city in Michigan! This fact really shocked both me and my friends. I've always wanted to live in Jackson when I'm older, but will that be possible? It's to the point where health problems occur due to the air we breathe everyday! You as citizens of Jackson can help by carpooling. Carpooling will help by reducing the use of expensive and air polluting gas. Plus, it will save you a ton of money! If you carpool five days a week for one year, you could save up to $730! Citizens of Jackson, we need your help! Save the environment so we kids can live in a clean-air city.

Mady Hauglie, 6th grade
Have you ever heard of Red 40, Red 40 Lake, or Red 33? Do you know what these dyes are made of? They are made of bugs or petroleum! The bugs come from out of the country. The petroleum is a tar. When you're chewing your gum, check our wrapper. These dyes might be in it. You know ice cream, right? Everybody loves this stuff. From Jackson to anywhere. Well, it's made with chemicals that they use to preserve cadavers. Come on everybody, get the word out! Get rid of that red junk. The stores are producing so much red dyes and chemicals. Jackson needs to be aware of what they're eating.

Tara M. Pape, 6th grade
"Mom, can I recycle this?" I questioned not too long ago. I held up an empty water bottle. She told me that I could if I found a bin for it. I thought about that and put a bin in our kitchen area for everyone to use. If everyone does that, think of how much non-renewable resources we'd be saving! In Jackson, most people don't recycle. If we do, we can save oil, trees, and lots of other things too. So, come on Jackson, we need everyone to pitch in for our wonderful planet!

Kelsey Corbell, 6th grade
Have you ever wondered why someone would even want to hurt an innocent animal? I do all the time. The HSUS estimated that 6-8 million animals are in a shelter every year. Three to four million of those animals are euthanized (put down) because they can't get homes! Seventy-six percent of abused animals are companion animals, twelve percent are farm animals, 7 percent are wildlife, and 5 percent are different varieties of animals. Chances are that if an animal is being abuse and there is a kid around, that the child might be getting abused too. Thousands of animals are abused throughout Michigan and I think it's time that we started thinking about the animals.

Hayley Hancock, 6th grade
Have you ever thought about all the homeless animals in Jackson? Or about how every day animals die in the streets? Well, I do all the time and I think it's horrible! The Cascades Humane Society needs volunteers to help! Some things you can do to help are to donate personalized plaques to hang on dog and cat kennels. Other things you can donate are gifts of life insurance, real estate, and stock. Also, you can recycle used ink cartridges, laser cartridges, and even cell phones! Then, bring these items to the Cascades Humane Society and animals get money for each item. Come on Jackson! Have a heart and help the Cascades Humane Society!

Abigail Plumb, 6th grade
If you live in Jackson, you know what the gas prices are. We are paying around five to 10 cents more than Ann Arbor. In six years, the prices went from $1.19 to $3.54; that's a $2.29 difference. If it keeps going at this rate, in another six years, when my friends and I are driving, we will be buying gas for $10.44 a gallon. We shouldn't have to pay that much. I wonder what would happen if a gas station lowered their prices for a day. They would probably get sold out and go home early!

Cheyenne Bolenbaugh, 6th grade
Jackson, like most other cities, has several fast food restaurants. McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendy's, have expanded their menus to include healthier food options. Diners can choose salads rather than burgers, fruit instead of fries, and water vs. soda. When it comes to eating out, choices are everything. I am very proud of Jackson for making an effort. They are really trying to make healthier foods for children.

Devon Thorne, 6th grade
I think we should have more than one skate park in Jackson. Many skaters like me have had complaints about Nixon Park. They say the ramps are too steep and the pool is the only really good part. Some friends and I found somewhere to put a walk-through park with a skate park in it. Businesses are always complaining about skaters hanging around their business and disturbing customers but if skaters had somewhere else to hang out, then the businesses and skaters would both be happy. Here's the location of the place where the park could be: 2603 West Michigan Avenue. It used to be a drive-in.

Tori Vainner, 6th grade
Did you know that the state of Michigan wants a lower the drinking age from 21 to 18? Your brain isn't fully developed until age 23. If you start drinking too much at 18, your brain can get damaged. I did a survey of sixth-graders at Western Middle School and over twice as many kids said no than the kids that said yes to lowering the drinking age. Also, the drinking age was lowered to 18 in 1976, but then six years later they raised it back up again. So why make the same mistake twice?

Becca Schalkofske, 6th grade
I have a strong disagreement of lowering the drinking age. Although I know every teen is not a criminal, their actions do affect everyone. For example, if an irresponsible teen were to go into a bar and drink, their ability to think would be abnormally slow. Then, if they were to drive themselves home, they would be putting everyone in danger because they could crash, harming or killing someone or even themselves. I did some research and found that the human brain is not fully developed until it is about 23-25 years old, and drinking might damage their maturing minds. These are some of the reasons I disagree with the thought of lowering the drinking age.

Kyle Fouty, 6th grade
Our county is full of people who love to skateboard. But many skateboarders skate in dangerous places. We have skaters in front of my house and they do it right in the road. I think a new skate park with a possible place to walk and bike ride while the others skateboard is the way to go. I know there is a skate park called Nixon Park but it is far away. I was doing some research and I found a good place to put it. The place was the Bel Air Drive-In located at 2603 W. Michigan Avenue. It is closer for all the kids on the west side of town.

Emily Griffin, 6th grade
I recently ran into a problem about recycling in Jackson. I suggest that there should be more recycling bins in public places. For example, every restaurant and parking lot I have been to in Jackson, I haven't seen one recycle bin. So there is nowhere to put paper products and pop bottles/cans that need to be recycled. Lately, I was on the Internet and found out that in Michigan, we only have ten drop-off recycling centers. If there are only ten in Michigan, then there are definitely not a lot in Jackson. Second of all, we need to stop deforestation. We have enough public places already, let alone cutting down trees just to make more. Thanks for listening to my concerns.

Meghan Shaw, 6th grade
Our community could be a better place if people would become more involved with our senior citizens. One way you could help this cause is by visiting nursing homes. Senior citizens are some of the loneliest people in our community. They need our help to stay cheerful. I've helped this need by writing letters to my great grandma. I just write to her about my day and she loves to hear about it. I've also visited a nursing home and I delivered homemade bookmarks. The smile on the peoples' faces made me pleased. If more people would reach out and help, then our community would be a better place.

Jack Tallman, 6th grade
Much of the world is realizing that pollution is causing more greenhouse gasses. Much of this is coming from the gas emissions produced by gasoline from our cars. Most families have about one to two cars, but they seem to use them too much. Reduce the pollution by using your cards a little less. Carpooling is also a good idea. My family and I ride our bikes to the Parma ice-cream place. This gives us exercise, fresh air, and reduces gas emissions. I believe that Jackson can do this, but to do it, everyone needs to try.

Holly Washburn, 6th grade
Something I could do to help my community is to help stop animal abuse. I could make signs or raise money to give to the animal shelter. If people don't want their pet, they should post a note at their local grocery store that says "free dogs or puppies to good homes." Hopefully, after doing some of those things, the animal shelter will have more money to spend on the animals, and people will not buy or take animals that they will not love or take care of.

Daniel Rauch, 6th grade
Summing up what our community can change in only one hundred words would be difficult. I mean no offense, but it's true. Michigan has many flaws. All that are fixable, starting with adult clubs. There are too many of them, a club in practically every town. Not that I've been to one, though. What's really sad is that there's one just two minutes from my old elementary school. I don't think that seven-year-olds should be subjected to that. Do you? Sure, there will be jobs lost, but maybe they can be replaced by something more child appropriate to supply new ones.

Samantha Cabiles, 6t grade
We, the Jackson community, could form a group to help elderly people. So many of them are lonely and sad. Many nursing home patients do not receive visitors. Our schools could go to the nursing homes to help them. We could sing and do crafts with them and maybe help them out, and not just at Christmas. Each member of this group could be assigned to at least one person each week. This group could really make a difference in an elderly person's heart.

Theddi Cronkright, 6th grade
One way that I think we could help the Jackson community is if everybody would just stop littering! I think lettering is a terrible thing to do. Also, when people litter, it hurts some of the animals, especially birds. One thing that I think we should have more of is the adopt a highway program that is going on and maybe we could even have an adopt a road program, because we need to clean up way more than just the highways! I think that if everybody started doing more of these programs then the environment will be clean in no time at all!

Damon Greer, 6th grade
Hey, do you want your community to be a better place? You can do this by adopting a highway in your extra time to keep the highways cleaner. That way you can help reduce pollution. Speaking of pollution, to save the trees you can use the three r's. (reduce, reuse, and recycle) Contact your local recycling plant and ask them to come to your street for old papers, plastic bottles, and cans. When you do this, you'll save trees, aluminum, and other types of stuff made into products. Now you know you can make a difference for the community.

Kendra Schleede, 6th grade
How I would help our community is by volunteering in a plant a tree program. The reason I would like to do this is because trees are getting knocked down to build new houses, but what people don't realize is that a lot of our oxygen comes from trees, and if they are killing trees, then they are killing us. Also, people have to cut down trees because of power lines, but if they can cut the trees down, then they should replant new trees. Trees can also stay around for a long time even when we die, and they will always have beauty. That is what I would do to help out our community.

Lelah Weber, 6th grade
When you're going to the parks, have you ever noticed that they are run down and not nice? Just like at Stay and Play in Parma. It has tons of cuss words on the slides and many more vulgar things written on them. I know I sure don't want to go there, and I don't think you would want your kids going there either. So let's clean it up. So make a difference and clean up the parks in your community.

Lynda Nguyen, 6th grade
If I could help with one thing to make my community better it would be helping people who smoke. I would get people to start encouraging smokers to stop. If people stopped smoking, our community would be cleaner and the air would be less polluted. Our community would be cleaner because when people get done smoking, they throw their cigarettes on the ground. The main idea here is that smoking is bad for you. If you smoke then you should try to stop and if you don't then don't start.

Cole Barclay, 6th grade
I think we can make our community better by trying to stop litter. I see too much garbage around Jackson, Spring Arbor, and Parma. I am tired of seeing junk thrown on the streets, grass, in the woods, etc. I think we should have more garbage cans around our community. We should have a day where volunteers from our community come and pick up garbage from various spots. I think if we all come together, we can have a better community.

Alyssa Cinpak, 6th grade
What could make our community better would be to have construction workers build more pretty restaurants. The restaurants should be cheap but not too cheap. Inside the restaurant there should be a kids room that any kid could play in. There should be tons of adults to watch and play with the kids. The workers would make a lot of money because if the playrooms were really good, then the kids would ask to eat there and play in the playroom. That's how you would make a lot of money. There would be a lot of jobs to offer because you would need a lot of adults to watch. That's what I think would be a great thing to help this community.

Levert Franklin, 6th grade
I think the community should provide more jobs for the people that are having a hard time keeping their house. If the community had more places for people to work they could offer people jobs. I also think we should help the homeless because I don't like people that are homeless dying on the streets. It is just like the core democratic value, equality. Everyone should be treated fairly, so the government should help homeless people out.

Hayden Smith, 6th grade
What I can do for our community is convince people to knock down the old abandoned run-down houses. Maybe the firefighters could use the old houses to practice their fire fighting abilities and rescuing skills. After the house is all burned they would pick up the leftover pieces of the house. Then we can have fundraisers and rallies to raise money to build a park or public garden. This would give us a cleaner city with more trees that would help the environment.

Alicia Griffin, 6th grade
Jackson County and Michigan look like landfills. This is why no visitors come to Michigan. No visitors mean no money, and no money means the state of Michigan goes down hill. There are things that even kids can do, like adopt a highway with their family and friends. This could make our community better. What irritates me is people throw out McDonald's bags, gum wrappers, and cigarettes. If we pick up every piece of garbage we see on the ground, our community would be much cleaner. So please Jackson, stop littering.

Cameron Allen, 6th grade
I think teen drug abuse is a big issue in our city. The things we can do to stop this are arrest all the drug dealers and take an infra-red scanning helicopter through the city and make it scan for the dope and other drugs. That is what we can do to stop this.

Sierra Shelts, 6th grade
I want to help make the community a better place. We need to be helping the animal habitat because people are destroying our woods! In the process, they are destroying the population of our animals. I know a lot of people, including my own family, that love the wilderness, but we won't have any wilderness without trees, plants, animals and insects. So please stop destroying our woods and wilderness.

Allison Burroughs, 6th grade
Do you enjoy living in a town that looks like a landfill? Then stop littering! God didn't create this earth for us to turn it into a pigsty! I love to wake up, look out the window and see a clean community. Even picking up your yard can help. When you see trash on the ground, pick it up, even if it isn't yours. If we keep this place clean, more businesses will come, then more jobs will be available. Even though our community isn't as bad as Detroit, it will be if we don't put pride into our community.

Joel Mansur, 6th grade
What we can do to help our community is that we need to clean up or demolish all the abandoned homes. These are unsafe to live in or to live by. They often are homes to wild animals like raccoons and such. Many of these homes were painted with lead paint and this is a problem to all families, especially small children. If the houses were torn down, the space could be used for planting trees, or putting up a new home in it's place. That is how we can make our community a better and cleaner place to live.

Dylan Tom, 6th grade
There are many ways to make our community better. We could pick up all the trash in the parks and along the highway, and put recycling bins along the road. People will then be able to stop and put their trash in the right spot. It would also be nice if people would go down the road and pick up trash. They should get a reward for voluntarily cleaning their community. We all should pick up trash and make the world a better place.

Drew Martin, 6th grade
I think that we need to do something about the drinking/smoking and people speeding all over town. We need to do something about the drinking because people go to clubs, get drunk, drive themselves home, and while driving they cause a huge threat to everybody on the road including themselves. They start swerving, speeding and become a potential killing machine. We need to do something about drunk driving now before it spreads any further into the future! That is what we need to do to make Jackson, Michigan a better place for all.

Grant Denton, 6th grade
The biggest concern for me is all the pollutants. The pollutants are hurting our world and destroying or ozone layer. We need to stop! Every day we should just take a little time and pick up a tiny amount of trash, and if everybody does that, then it will make a huge difference in our environment. We need to take responsibility for our illogical actions. It can happen!

Taylor Davis, 6th grade
I am sick of seeing trash all over the highways. How I can help with that is ask a whole group from Jackson to help me clean up the highways. That is not all I am depressed about. I am tired of seeing all of these jobs leaving our city and state just because our city and state government won't help them. I think that our government should help the businesses, not just sit there and let them leave the state. How I could help with that is write a letter to our government and tell them how I feel.

Brock Hoffman, 6th grade
I can make the community a better place by going around the block, walking the highway, the sides of streets, and through subdivisions to pick up trash. People in this world don't really care a bout the community, playgrounds or even big parks. All they do is try to make this world a worse place by throwing their trash out windows, and destroying parks and playgrounds by spraying graffiti on signs or slides. I'm going to stop this by using my materials I have to pick up trash and scrub off graffiti.

Olivia Fatchett, 6th grade
I love playing at the Stay and Play during the summer. What I don't like is the graffiti on the walls, swings, and everything else. I don't think that little children should be exposed to that kind of language. We should get new picnic tables for the park. The tables have been drawn on and are also starting to fall apart. I think our community should clean and repaint the Stan and Play.

Dennis Domschot, 6th grade
What I think we could do to make the community a better place is to stop polluting. I think we should ride our bikes more often or walk. It would make the community a better place and make you more healthy and fit. If we ride our bikes more often, it will help prevent global warming.

Rachel Buratovich, 6th grade
I think there are lots of things we could do to make our community better. One of these things is helping strays and wild animals. A few things we could do to help them are small, easy things like not littering. It's so bad for all kinds of life. We could also try to stop people from abusing their animals. People who take pleasure in watching animals suffer are more likely to take pleasure in watching people suffer. If a stray finds you, keep it. The animal could be looking for love. If you can't provide it, give the animal to someone who can. We have the power to change animals' lives for the better.

Peyton Navarre, 6th grade
I think we can make our community better by giving homeless people jobs. They could pick up litter so people could say "our town is not trashy." They could clean graffiti off buildings and walls so our buildings don't look dirty. They can plant flowers and trees to give the city a fresh scent. We could give them inexpensive housing, food, clothes, etc. That's how I think we can make our community better.

Devon Opalek, 6th grade
What do you see when you walk outside? Garbage! It's everywhere and nobody seems to bother to pick any of it up. After people are done eating they will just throw it out their window instead of waiting to find a garbage can. People won't come to Jackson and say "it's beautiful" if we keep it like this. I think that every month we should go outside and pick up garbage. Even if you pick up a few pieces in your yard, in ditches, on the side of the road, and around your school, it's better than before.

Rachel Kono, 6th grade
If I could change one thing in the community it would be child abuse. Children don't have a voice. They don't deserve to be beaten. Kids don't need to be hurt emotionally, physically, or mentally. To stop this, everyone can help. One thing citizens can do is provide classes to help parents with anger. That way we can stop child abuse. When a parent hits a child, it means that they are insecure. To make a parent more secure, we can meet with them weekly and talk to them. Without this, people's kids may become abusers too.

Hannah Weeks, 6th grade
What I think we should do to make our community a better place is to stop animal abuse! People shouldn't hurt poor animals! If you see someone hitting or yelling at the animal, try to do something. Some people can be so heartless and brutal. It is known that animal abusers will often become criminals that have no problem hurting people. Some people think it's okay to hurt animals but it's not okay. When you are ill-humored to an animal, they think all humans are that way. This is what we should do to help.

Kara Brown, 6th grade
What I can do to help the community is pick up litter. When my friends and I go around the town we pick up the garbage on the ground. I also try to clean up around the ponds and lakes, so the wind can't blow the garbage into them. Garbage can also affect animals. We can pick up the pop cans and take them to a gas station or a party store. We can throw all the garbage in a big dumpster so the dump truck can take the garbage. It is all of our concern to keep our community clean. Please pick up litter even if it isn't yours.

Kaitlyn DeForest, 6th grade
Do you feel bad when you see homeless people on the streets? I do. I have some ways to help them. We could build a homeless shelter for them in a nice town. At church and school we could donate canned goods year round. Everyone is very generous during the holidays, but I bet they are hungry in the summer too. They won't just sit around; they would work to stay in the shelter by working around the town. Don't you think we should help the less fortunate? I do.

Andrea Mitchell, 6th grade
There are a lot of things we can do to help our community and make it a better place to live in. So please stop littering and start picking the trash up and cleaning the parks and environment. Instead of just sitting on the couch at home and not doing anything but watching TV. Also, there are a lot of other things that you can do to help the environment for even animals to live.

Henley Nowicki, 6th grade
Can you imagine everybody being exactly the same? What a boring world that would be. Learning to accept everybody would make our world a better place. Accepting everybody would leave nobody left out and they won't be down in the dumps. Would you like to be left out and have no friends because of your race, gender, religion, or weight? Think about how other people feel that are always getting left out. That is one thing that I think would make the world spin just as smooth as cutting butter.

Allison Snyder, 6th grade
Can you imagine not having enough food for your family? Well, in Jackson there are many people in this situation. I can change my community by serving at my church's food pantry to end hunger. Every Saturday morning at my church we welcome those in need of food. We provide enough food for three days of meals. On Saturdays, I come ready to serve. By giving food to the less fortunate, I am helping my community. I am helping by providing food to those who need it. This is one way that I can change my community.

Mackenzie Kellar, 6th grade
"Mommy? What's that on the swing? That's a naughty word!" One thing that I could change would be the vandalism in the community parks. Older kids and teenagers are coming when nobody else is around and they are vandalizing the parks. What they don't think about is that they are setting a bad example for children. I think I could help change the vandalism by gathering people and doing things such as cleaning, repainting, and picking up. What I want people to realize is that they are getting nowhere by vandalizing. By saying all of this, I can change our parks!

Cecil Burkhart, 6th grade
Save the elephants! One thing I would change is the South African elephant problem. The main problem is that both the elephants and the humans over there are expanding at a big rate. So the elephants need land to live and so do we, but we are taking the elephants' land so they are fighting back by destroying grain storage, houses, and injuring, sometime killing us. I would give them both equal land. If this would come up again, I would relocate them to more land. That is what I would change if I could.

Caitlyn Risnger, 6th grade
Did you know many cats and dogs are euthanized daily because of over population? If I could improve anything in Michigan, it would be animal control. To improve animal control, you should always put tags on your pets even if you don't live near busy roads. I believe that to help save many pets lives, you should spay and neuter your pets. Many clinics are spaying and neutering for free or discounted costs to encourage it. I think with these tips, our community will become a better place, not just for people, but for living, breathing animals too.

Jamie Miller, 6th grade
One thing I would like to change in my community is all of the stray animals. I would put up flyers telling people to put collars and tags on their animals. I would also ask people to put their dogs on chains, and the cats in the house. Or maybe put up a higher fence so that their dogs that they love don't end up as road kill or as a stray. Also, I would tell people that if they don't treat their animals right, they shouldn't have any animals. And that is what I would change in my community.

Kali Mees, 6th grade
Did you know that over 500 soldiers in a year loose their lives fighting for our country? One way we can make this world a better place is by stopping the wars. All the time I hear that another soldier died and their families are devastated! I blame President Bush! I mean, does he want his soldiers to die? Why are we even fighting? That's sad when you go up to someone and say "I lost my son in the war, fighting for no reason!" Think of the families that have lost a loved one and help stop the wars!

Chester Chan, 6th grade
How can I make the world a happier place? If I could make the world a better place, I would start by putting a smile on everybody's face. A happier world would be safer for everyone. I can start by saying "hi" to a complete stranger. Or, I can sit by the kid who has no one to sit by at lunch. If someone drops their belongings, I can help them. When someone needs a friend to talk to, I can talk to them. I will try to make friends with everyone. A happier world would be a better world.

Justin Wilson, 6th grade
Cha-ching! If I could change one thing for my school, it would be better funding. This would help my school be much more fun. This change would help Western School District with the money problems. It could bring in more field trips. We could bring in more computers and more outside activities. If we had more fund raisers, then we could make our school a better place. If we had more security cameras, we could have a better chance to stop bullying! If we had better funding, our school could be a much better place!

Tristen Martin, 6th grade
What I would like to fix in this world is the environment. I would pick up litter and stuff like that. I would build a fence around the front of the ocean. Then, I would put a sign on the front and I would have it say "No Littering and No Oil Dumping." If I see a person throwing garbage on the ground, I would tell them to pick it up. Then I would hire some scientist to help study the water. That could help save the endangered species. So, my idea would be to help the environment.

Abby Blume, 6th grade
Everyday when I get off the bus I see somebody else's garbage scattered about my yard. If there was one thing I could change in our community it would be the littering problem. It isn't hard to dispose of your garbage. All you have to do is walk three steps to the garbage. One thing I would do is have "garbage stations." Every ten miles there would be a shed with a dumpster inside it. Just pull over and toss your garbage. Littering is a big environmental problem. Do all you can to prevent pollution. Take care of your garbage!

Mackenzie Bowden, 6th grade
Every time I see a cut down forest, I think of animals' homes. One thing I would do to help our environment is for more people to start recycling. People need to stop being selfish and think about animals before they throw away paper. If we start recycling we can decrease the size and the number of landfills. Every classroom in Western Middle School has a recycling bin. I would give out bins and provide trucks to come by each house to pick up their paper. Not recycling is a big problem. Get a recycling bin and help our environment.

Cooper Sheard, 6th grade
Stop the madness! The thing I am always wondering about is the government telling people to buy solar energy items, but they cost so much. That's the thing I would change in the world. People are always telling us to use solar energy instead of gas powered appliances, buy how can we do that if no one can afford them. I think solar energy costs should be reduced drastically so the majority of people can afford it. I think that doing this will severely help the energy crisis. That's one of the many things in the world I would change.

Dillan Allen, 6th grade
The things people mostly worry about are pot holes. When I was smaller, my mom got into a car crash because there was a major pot hole in the highway intersection. She got hurt but not to severely hurt. If my mom would have got into a pileup, she would have got really hurt. I always wanted to do something like help with a fund raiser to do something about it and I have seen Belle Tire is trying to help with the entire major pot hole problem. Can you help with pot holes?

Dominic Nixon, 6th grade
Stop the wars! When we fight in a war, we are wasting our resources and our money that could be spent on other things. I would make a team to help me protest the wars (like the one in Iraq). We would write thousands of letters to the president and we would go to D.C. and make a speech. If that didn't work, we would protest at the capital of America! We would take all the time we need until we get peace. Then we would go to other countries one by one until we get world peace!

Maddie Tylutki, 6th grade
One thing I would like to change in the world is recycling. I want people to recycle because of the trees. If you recycle, we would save the trees. Also, you could reuse the paper. So you should use as much of a paper as you can. Another thing we could do is recycle cans. If you recycle cans we could reuse them too. My last recycling idea is to reuse your boxes. Boxes can be used about 50 times. Also keep your boxes because it will save you money. So those are some reasons why you should recycle.

Laura Cochrane, 6th grade
Have you ever been in so much pain that it feels as if you could just die? Well that's how some people feel every day, but not only that, they also feel as if they were dying of starvation. People in Africa need our help. I hear on the radio and see on the TV that there are a lot of children suffering from so many diseases and most of them don't even have parents because they probably already died. I want to be a doctor when I grow up so I can help to make the world a better place.

Austin Long, 6th grade
If I could make our community a better place, I would fix the roads. Some of the roads in Jackson have potholes. Also in the winter time, more of the roads need to be plowed. Some of the roads are not plowed. To help the roads get better, I think there needs to be more plow trucks out on the road. Also, in the winter, the road commission should go out and fix every road that has a pothole in it. These are only a few things that I think should be fixed on the roads.

Basaam Ikram, 6th grade
In our world we have three hundred seventy-five endangered species in the world today! I picked one from the Middle East, and it's the tiger! In the Middle East, the tiger is an endangered species. People kill these animals because they want the fur from them and use them in circus acts. For example, in a survey in the 1900's, three species of tigers were extinct! The number one killer for these animals is poaching! For this reason I would love to save all of the tiger species. I ask all the people to save the species of tigers!

Caleb Boss, 6th grade
Did you know that many people have been littering, and a lot of people are trying to stop it? In Michigan, I've seen a lot of people littering, like throwing pop an out of their windows and pieces of lettuce. My mom even littered once and we had to pay a $100 fine! People have been helping out by picking up all of the trash on the side of the road. So stop the littering! As you can see from these paragraphs, it is really wrong to litter and we should stop it.

Taylor Allen, 6th grade
How can you do this! If I got to change the world in any way, I would stop oil spills. The reason I would like to stop oil spills is because many animals have died from this and it's also affecting the gas prices. Usually when there's an oil spill from a company and they know that they are spilling oil into the water, they don't care for what they are doing. One reason they wouldn't care is because they have a company to run and a family to take care of. Also, it would affect the company.

Melissa Davis, 6th grade
If I could change one thing in the environment, it would be smoking. I would make it illegal to smoke. There are thousands of people that die every day from smoking. I wish there was a law for smoking because my grandpa died from it. He died when I was in my mom's stomach. That's why I never met my grandpa. You know, that's how lots of people have lost their family, just because of that stupid habit. That's why I think smoking should be against the law!

Ashten Griswold, 6th grade
If I could change anything in the world to make it a better place, I would change the distress of littering and pollution. First, I would go to the ocean to save all the creatures from the sea. Then I would clean up all oil spills so all creatures would be free from the treacherous toxins. Also, I would change the littering that ruins our land. If these two disasters were changed, the world would be cleaner, healthier, and better for the environment on land and in the sea. That's what I would change to fix the world.

Brittany Kittinger, 6th grade
Whack, whack! That's the sound of an ax cutting down bamboo. Panda bears are an endangered species because of cutting down bamboo, which is the panda's nutrition. I am going to tell you what is happening to the pandas and what we can do to stop it. First of all, we are cutting down the bamboo to make factory products. This is decreasing the food for pandas and the lifespan. We can stop this by re-planting bamboo in their habitats and discouraging people from cutting it down. That is a way people are endangering pandas and how we can help take them off the endangered list.

Jon Saines, 6th grade
Did you know that millions of dollars are getting spent in Iraq? One thing the USA needs to work on is not spending so much money in Iraq! One reason we need to come back is that Bush is spending millions and millions of dollars overseas when he could be spending it on the schools that need to be redone or on the states that need it! My final reason is that families children (or husbands and wives) are getting killed in Iraq. Bush just wanted to finish what his dad started and it's done so bring the troops home!

Isaiah Ingles, 6th grade
Have you ever tried to help the poor? Well you should, because that is what I want to do for this world. My plan to help the poor is to get a basketball campaign going. For my campaign I would try to present it to my school and maybe get on the radio. The basketball campaign would charge $2 to shoot for a couple of days. Also, I would sell T-shirts and sweatshirts. Then with the raised money, I would go to Africa to build schools and houses. I hope this would encourage people to help the poor.

Jordan Dack, 6th grade
Do you know how many abused and injured pets are sitting in shelters right now? If I could make the world a better place, I would fund money for abused animals in shelters. I would start fundraisers to pay for pet medication, operations, toys and food. I would supply them with all the necessities of life. I would also try to find good, responsible, non-abusive owners. To raise money, I would sell items and allow people to shoot baskets and play basketball for money. If I could I would change this for the better of the world.

Libby Breton, 6th grade
Have you ever thought that you couldn't change the world? Well I think I could by helping kids in Africa from starving. At my youth camp, we watched a video on kids starving in Africa. This video really hit me hard. My church is doing a fund-raiser along with going 30 hours without food. Twenty nine thousand kids die each day because of starvation. So far, I have raised $30, but I am determined to raise more. With this money they could have a better chance of living a long, full life. I'm helping change the world, are you?

Kourtlynn Peiffer, 6th grade
Raising money! I think that we can make the world a better place by raising money for the poor. I think that we can raise money by having garage sales, drink sales and other stuff. If we raise money for the poor, we can buy them food, clothes, shoes, and other stuff they need. The poor will need a lot of things. With the money we raise we could have a group of people build them houses and find out what size things they need. So let's raise money and give the poor what they need!

Rachel Barnes, 6th grade
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." This aphorism doesn't concern many people. If I could modify something in the school, it would be bullying. To change bullying, I'd start with a petition. I would go to every classroom and collect names of people who have been persecuted. After that, I'd send the petition to either the school board of education or the principal. If my first attempt didn't work, I'd bombard them with letters - about five a day. Those two protests to stop maltreatment would be my method to alter the school.

Annesley Moore-Jumonville, 6th grade
Have you ever ridden the bus? Well I have and sometimes it's not fun! If I could change the world I would do something about the bus. A lot of people I know get bullied, teased, or have to listen to inappropriate language. I would form as petition for parents to sign, placing another parent at the back of the bus. That way they can have some control over bullying and harassment. Also some busses are really crowded or hardly have any people that ride them. That is what I would do to make the world better.

Sarah Pulley, 6th grade
Wow! If I could make the world a better place I would do a million things. But if I could only do one thing, it would be to stop adults from doing one of the worst things they could do. Smoke. One reason smoking is bad for you is it can shorten your life span and the life span of the people around you. Not to mention you could make your chances of lung cancer a lot higher. So if you want to live a long, health life please don't smoke!

Lindsey Cochrane, 6th grade
One thing I would want to do to make our world a better place is o help needy kids in Africa. How I would do that is I would have a fundraiser. I'm involved with gymnastics, so I could do a gymnastics fundraiser. All the money I would send to the neediest charity in Africa. With the money I would try to provide them with food and health care. Then I would have a bake sale for more health care, as much as I could give. That's how I would like to help kids in Africa.

Tade Price, 6th grade
Ahhhh! He knocked my books down! I would like to change bullying in our community. One example of bullying is when people come up to other kids and knock their books down. Also the kids getting bullied should tell someone but they don't. I think we can change bullying by having cameras and then look at the tape every day. Then we can find the bullies. Another way of bullying is on the buses. The driver can't pay attention to the kids so I think there should be a supervisor in the back. And that's how we can change bullying.

Nathaniel Green, 6th grade
I think that trailers catching a flame left and right are horrid. I think that the government should come up with an idea that all insurance covers a free installment of flame resistant siding or insulation. That will slow the time to make the things inside catch on fire and that will make people feel more secure and in turn happier.

Pat Letts, 6th grade
I believe that our community can be significantly enhanced with a few minor changes. One fact I believe is the base of this recession is that many companies in Jackson have moved to other countries such as China and Mexico for contemptible labor. I believe that because of this, Jackson has lost oodles of funds due to insatiability. I also suppose that many of Jackson's roads badly need repair. If these roads are repaired, then I believe many employment opportunities to people in need of them improving the economy and many people's lives.

Erica Griffith, 6th grade
Do you want to make the world a better place? I do. I want to put a stop to the slaughter of the terrestrial mammal, the elephant. Local people usually shoot elephants because they fear them and regard them as a nuisance. Hunters kill a certain amount of elephants to keep them so-called "manageable" and to "exterminate" any conflicts between them. If you ever want to see the face (or trunk) of an elephant again, get involved and help save the elephants!

Dustin McCulloch, 6th grade
Animals all over the world are being killed for furs and other materials. Black bears are victims of these acts. Black bears are on the endangered list because of habitat loss and fragmentation from logging and poaching. Habitats are destroyed by the making of highways and homes. We need to stop these acts and focus to stop the bears from going on the verge of extinction. The U.S. government made a law to stop killing black bears. It is a great start but it doesn't stop poaching. We need to prosecute these poachers. Save the bears!

Kodie Pritchard, 6th grade
I think we should stop the acts of violence and just plain stupidity. All of this took place in Arbor Village. What happened is some kids were trying to be cool and they were lighting stuff on fire! One of them lit a scarf on fire and threw it in someone's shed and the thing burned down fast as heck and before it burned down all the way it caught the trailer on fire. What if a baby was in the back bedroom and caught fire. This is why we should put an end to this stuff.

Alexis Macchia, 6th grade
Would you like to stop smoking? If I could make the world a better place then it would be to quit smoking. When I go home on the bus, I see people that are younger than 16 smoking. It makes me so mad to think of how many people that have gotten sick or died from it. Also, many people have asthma. Some people that smoke cough so bad that it makes me hurt as well. I hate that feeling when someone gets sick from smoking. So stop smoking and make it a better place.

Jessica Rumsey, 6th grade
Why should Jackson citizens pay more money for the same gasoline? Did you know as you pump gas into your vehicle, you're paying more than our neighbors to the east? If you've filled your car with gas in the last few days, you've probably been paying 10 to 15 cents more than people in Detroit and Battle Creek. In 2002, gas prices were $1.19 and have currently risen to $3.48. If gas triples every six years, the gas prices will be $10.44 when my class can drive. We need to lower our prices to the same amount as the other people pay.

Alexandra Nazaruk, 6th grade
If everyone could cut down to at least three cigarettes a day, then over 4 million less cigarettes would be smoked in a single day. In order to make the world a better place, adults need to stop smoking. If adults stop smoking it will also encourage kids to stop. Everybody knows that smoking hurts your health, but does everybody know that second-hand smoke can be just as harmful as first-hand? Well it is, and it hurts kids more than it hurts adults! So please, America, stop smoking and we can make this world a better place together.

Rebecca Lane, 6th grade
I believe that we can make the world a better place to live in by stopping the pollution. One way we can stop pollution is by ending people from dumping oil into our waters. When people dump oil into the seas, it is harming animals like whales, dolphins, otters and birds. One way it can harm otters is by grooming themselves by licking their body and swallowing it. The oil can either kill them or harm them. That is why I believe that wed can change the world by stopping pollution.

Faelon O'Dowd, 6th grade
People of the world, I would like to tell you about my feelings about our world. I think that to one's eyes, it's paradise and to another, it's a dreadful place. In my opinion, our world is OK. One thing I hate is abortion. Abortion is the killing of babies. If you think about it, it is murder, and people go to jail for murder. Why don't people who get abortions go to jail. Because no one will stand up to ban it? Thank you for reading and please help ban abortion.

Ambert Everts, 6th grade
What would you do to make your world a better place? Well here is what I would to do my world. If I could make my world a better place, I would try to save all of the endangered species. One endangered species is the elephant. They are endangered because of the people who are killing them for their tusks and meat. After they get done getting what they want, they will just leave the rest to rot away. Then they will sell the tusks and meat. The tusks and the meat will go for $100 at the minimum.

Douglas Wilson III, 6th grade
How I can make the world a better place is to stop poaching so that fewer animals are on the endangered species list. If we don't stop poaching animals, there won't be any elephants, dolphins, or grizzly bears. Poaching is getting so bad that even more animals are getting on the endangered species list. So we should just stop it! I mean seriously, just stop poaching. If we don't stop it, we're going to kill all the animals and then we won't have nature to enjoy. No wonder the dinosaurs are extinct. Then you, my friend, are a jerk.

Ashlee Cryderman, 6th grade
Oh no! When's this pollution going to stop? Something I would do to make the world better is stop pollution. I would ask the government to make more cars that run on electricity. My dad is always complaining about gas prices. So, if you use gas, you are making pollution. I would change pollution because every morning I come up to the end of my driveway and find lots of trash. Also when there are oil spills it washing up on shore and pollutes our beaches. Those are my reasons why we should stop pollution.

Brett Prater, 6th grade
Hi. I'm Brett Prater and I am going to answer your question. How can I change my community? This is how I can and you can too. We have lived on this planet for centuries, and now we kill it with smoking, factories, and driving when you don't need to. Then we burn wood and coal, and we have kids to think it's fun to blow up cans of axe. Now, look at this problem from a kids point of view. Kids get what's left of earth and we don't want a planet with no ozone layer.

Jamie Walters, 6th grade
I believe I can fight world hunger! Do you? You should. Well, I am going to Montana in the summer to help all of the poor, innocent children and families! When I go to Montana, my church and I are going to build an enormous building for all the homeless people and build a church, have food drives, and a lot more exciting things. Also, I encourage people to come to our church, Grace! There are a lot of trips you can go on to save and help people. That is how I want to fight world hunger.

Kate McCormack, 6th grade
Have you ever been traveling and seen a person holding a sign that reads: "Will work for food?" I have; a mother and her two children, and a younger man. Nobody in Jackson should be holding that sign. Approximately 350 people are homeless in Jackson. One option for them is to go to the Intefaith Shelter in Jackson. There, they get fed, are given clean clothes, and are provided a place to sleep. Those people made me think that we should put another shelter on the other side of town so we can help more people. The Interfaith Shelter is doing a good job, but it can barely keep up with the requests for help. I hope this shelter becomes a reality in Jackson.

Dustin Fransted, 6th grade
There aren't a lot of non smoking restaurants in Jackson County. I would like to have more. I don't like the disgusting smell of smoke and there are a lot of other people that don't like it too. In some smoking restaurants, the smoking part is by the kitchen and the food smells and tastes like smoke. In some smoking restaurants the restrooms are by smoking sections and people have to walk through, and a lot of people don't like that. Some of the smoke-free restaurants are China House, Bob Evans, Pizza Hut, and A & W. So, if you don't like smoky food, try some of these restaurants and there are a lot more.

Courtney Reese, 6th grade
Many smoking restaurants in Jackson I bet, have lost a lot of their customers because of people who can't step outside to smoke a cigarette. In Jackson, there are only a few restaurants that have a policy for no smoking. I didn't mind until one of my family members died, my grandpa. He was the best, and did not deserve to die. Although he died of a lung problem, half of it was from smoking and breathing in second-hand smoke. He could not really go to any restaurant even if we sat in the non-smoking section. So do you want to breathe in smoke at a restaurant and possibly die, or have a serious problem? It's up to you, Jackson!

Emily Arntz, 6th grade
Non-smoking restaurants are good for the community. A lot of restaurants have changed to non-smoking because of the deaths from second-hand smoke. Cigarettes contain cancer causing carcinogens. They're responsible for approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths annually in U.S. non-smokers. Second-hand smoke can give you a lot of problems too, such as heart disease, emphyssema, and may even complicate pregnancy. Please help us save the community. It's up to you, Jackson!